The Buddy Burn

I’m super pumped to announce that I’ll be teaming up with one of my favorite fitness brands, Adidas, for the next month to share inspiring fit-tips, partner workouts, healthy recipes, mantras and more with my girl, Christina Caruso. Follow along for fitspiration to stay motivated and strong all winter long.

This week we’re focusing on one of our favorite running /cardio routines to help burn calories while strengthening and stretching your muscles to prevent injuries— especially in chilly temps. Whether you plan a wellness weekend to a warm destination with your BFF, or you motivate each other to get up and out at sunrise on a cold winter’s day, having a partner to burn calories with is key to staying persistent with your fitness routine during harsh winter months. Below are some key moves and stretches that we like to do together before heading out for our morning run.

1. Be there to motivate each other to get up and get out (especially when days get shorter and colder).
2. Start with one to two minutes of brisk walking to get your blood flowing and body moving.
3. Stop and gently stretch, but don’t overdo it since your body isn’t totally warmed up yet. Use your partner for push /pull lunge stretches to open up the upper body, hips and hamstrings.
4. Sit down and use your partner to help each other stretch hamstrings, calves and to strengthen your core. Touch your feet together and push up creating an upside-down “v” like shape with your legs. Support each other by holding hands in the center or bracing arms behind you on the ground. Hold for 10-15 seconds and release and repeat 2 more times.
5. Stand back to back with your partner and slowly bend at the waist with a flat back and reach down to touch your toes, gently stretching your calf and hamstrings. Hold each side for 20 seconds.

1. Stand up, raise your arms over your head, grabbing your wrist to stretch the back, shoulders and arms. Bend over to one side hold for 5 breaths, go back to center and then bend over to the other side and hold for 5 breaths. Repeat 10 times.
2. Step forward into side by side lunges to get your legs ready for your run. Raise arms over head, keep your back straight and tall and hold for 20 seconds. Then you can also move into walking lunges to fire up your muscles and get a little extra toning in your legs.
3. Do 30 jumping jacks.
4. For more fitness fun, pop up into crow pose to fire up your core. Hold for 5 breaths or longer if you can! (You can try to go head to head in this pose to prevent from falling forward and to help support each other.)

One last warmup before you start to put in some real miles…  partner pushup planks. Partner #1 sits on the ground upright with arms raised and legs straight out making an “L” shape with their body. Partner number 2, grab partner #1’s ankles and raise each leg into a plank position while partner #1 grabs each of partner #2’s ankles and raises them overhead. Partner  #1 does arm raises up, then down, holding partner #2’s legs, then partner #2 goes from plank down to ground then push back up while partner #1 holds their ankles helping them go up and down.

Now you’re warmed up ready to hit the ground running. Start with a slow jog for about 2 to 3 minutes and work your way into a running pace that feels right for you. It’s great to run with a buddy to push each other past your limits and put in a few extra miles. We usually run 4 to 5 miles and then cool down with a brisk walk for one minute.

Finally you can end with repeating some simple stretches from the beginning of the workout to avoid injuries.

Stay tuned for more fit inspo with Adidas this month!
Get fit, Girls!

Gear: c/o Adidas